Card holder



Feb. 5, 1952 A. H. KERN CARD HOLDER Filed June 25, 1948 3nventor #45527H. KEIRN Patented Feb. 5, 1952 Albert H. Kern, Birmingham, Ala.

Application June 25, 1948, Serial No. 35,271

This invention relates to a device for holding an unbound stack of cardsor the like for the entry or transfer of information thereto ortherefrom, as in accounting, and has for an obj'e'ct the provisioniof adevice of the character designated in which the cards are firmly heldwhen reference is being made thereto, but are readily removed when theentries are completed. A further object of my invention is to provide adevice for holding a stack of cards or the like 2 Claims. (Cl. 281-44)for the entry or transfer of information thereto or therefrom whichshall embody means whereby the cards are held in position and theentries or transfers made by one hand of the person using the device. I

A still further object of my invention is to provide a device forholding an unbound stack of cards which shall include a base member,having an upper surface for supporting the cards, and a hand restincluding a card retaining portion 2 ing a stack of unbound cardsmounted in position for use; I

Fig. 2.,is a longitudinal sectional view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the upper end of the device; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the blank from which the device is made.

Referring now to the drawing for a better understanding of my invention,my improved card holding device is preferably made from a sheet ofresilient metal bent as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 to provide a base 10, acard supporting portion ll,

thereon and a hand rest l2, the card supporting portion and the handrest being spaced from the base adapted to bear against the lower edgeof the circumstances, it has been necessary for the accountant toholdthe stack of cards down with one hand while the other hand was beingused for making the entries. As is also well. known, it is oftennecessary to refer to or compare the information on the cards withamaster sheet or record and in order not to lose the place on suchrecord, some sort of aligning device must be employed. My invention hasfor its principalobject the overcoming of this last mentioneddiffic'ulty. In accordance with my invention I have provided a devicefor holding a stack of cards, under the circumstances hereinabovementioned, in which the cards are positioned with their lower edgesinserted beneath the upper edge of a hand rest whereby they are firmlyheld in position by the pressure of the hand of the person using thedevice on the hand rest thus leaving the other hand free to follow themaster sheet or record. Otherwise stated, by means of my invention, onehand of the user performs the duties of two hands, leaving the otherhand free for other duties.

A device embodying features of my invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the device showportion 1 I is bentdownwardly at 13 to engage the base Ill. The upper end of the hand restI2 extends upwardly to overhang a stack of cards l4 mounted on the cardsupporting portion ll. Secured or otherwise provided on the underside ofthe hand rest l2 adjacent the turned down portion I3, of the cardsupporting portion, is a card stop 16 against which the lower edges ofthe cards I4 rest to hold them in alignment and in position for'entriesto be made thereon. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the card stop it isinclined toward the lower end of the hand rest so that as the stack ofcards is brought to rest against the stop each card in the stackoverhangs the next lower card in the stack at the top. This featureinsures that, as the cards are removed, one at a time, by engaging themat the top with the fingers, only one card at a time will be thusengaged.

Extending upwardly from the hand rest l2 are and 2| drawing them intoalignment. The auxiliary members I! and I8 have another importantfunction in that it often becomes necessary in making entries to make anentry from a card not included in the stack [4. Under such conditions,such card may be placed on the stack l4, between the tabs l9 and 2|,with its lower edge inserted under the lips 22 and 23 of the members I1and I8 and thus be held in place while the necessary entry is beingmade.

Referring now to Fig. 4 of the drawing, I show the blank from which myimproved card holder is made. This blank is preferably comprised of aresilient metal sheet 26 which is bent along the dotted lines 21, 28, 29and 3 I. The blank is folded .over itself along the lines 28 and 29 toform the card supporting portion H with the lower edge turned downwardlyalong the line 21 to form the support l3. The other end of the blank isfolded over upon itself along the line 31 to form the hand .rest 12,,while the tabs or auxiliary retaining members H and 18 are bentdownwardly along the lines 32 and 33 to the positions shown in Figs. '1and 2 of the drawing. The card stop, 1:6 is then formed or secured tothe underside of the hand rest in any suitable manner.

In order to give the device a more pleasing appearance and make it morecomfortable in use, I preferably provide a cover 34, made ofanyxsuitable material, over the hand rest I2 and preferably provide aplurality. of supporting pads "35' of rubber or other suitable materialon the underside of'the base 10.

From the foregoing description, the method: of using my improveddevice'will be apparent. A stack of cards on which entries are to bemade or from which information is to be transferred is placed on thecard supporting portion H of the device with their lower edges bearing'against the stop IS. The right hand oi -the user rests onthe hand restl2 while making the entries, whereby the weight of his hand, plus theresiliency of the connection between the hand rest and thebase,holds'the cards l l firmly in place. At the same time, the other hand ofthe usercan be'used to refer to or hold the place on a master sheet orrecord. Extra cards upon which entries may be made are inserted underthe tabs 2-2 and 23 of the auxiliary supporting members H and 18.

While I'have described my improved cardholding device as being made ofresilient sheet metal; it will be apparent that it may be constructed ofany suitable material, or materials, withoutdeparting from the spirit ofmy invention and the use of metal for that purpose is given herein asthe material from which it may be the most economically'produced.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have devised an improvedcard holder which is simple of design and economical of manufacture andone which is adapted'to greatly increase the efficiency-of the user.

While I have-shown my invention in butone form, it willbe obvious tothose skilled in'the art that it is not so limited but is susceptible ofvarious changesa'ndmodifications, without departing from the spiritthereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall beplaced thereupon as are specifically set forthin the appended claims.

WhatI claim is: 1. A card holder comprised of sheet m'etal and includinga base portion bent upwardly and then inwardly and downwardlyadjacentone end thereof to form a downwardly inclined card support, said cardsupport being bent downwardly at the lower end thereof to engage thebase, a hand rest joined to the opposite end of the base and springbiased therefrom and extending inwardly and upwardly. to overhangthedower. edge of. the card support, upwardly extending side tabs ateach side on the upper end of the hand rest flaring outwardly away fromeachother, and a card stop joined to the under side of the hand rest andspaced from the upper edge thereof and from the lower edgeof the cardsupport and inclined toward the lower end of the holder.

2-. A devicef'oriholding a stack of cards comprising. aresilient metalsheet folded upwardly and then inwardly and downwardly at one endthereof. to provide a ba'se and card supporting portion overlying andspaced fromithe base, said card supportingipo'rtion being turneddownwardly at its inner end to engage the base, saids'heet being foldedover itself'at the end opposite said card supporting'portion to providean inwardly and upwardly extending hand rest portionspring biasedfro'm'the base with. its upper edge overlying the lower'end'of the cardsupporting portion", a card stop member extending downwardly from theupper portion of the hand" rest portion adjae cent the lower end of theca'rd'supportin'g portion andinclined' away from the lower end thereof,and lips at the upper corners of "said'hand' rest portion extending overthe card'supportingiportion and having downturnedcard aligning tabsextending alongside said card supporting portion, said tabs flaringoutwardly away from each other at the endsthereof'adja'cent'saidcardsupporting portion.

ALBERT KERN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 753,693 French et a1 Mar. 1, 1904774,661" French .Nov. 8, I904 774,754 Hicks Nov. 15, 1904 1,079,960'Tollstam -1 Dec. 2, 1913 1,439,138 White Dec. 19,1922 2,237,532'Pos'nack Apr. 3,1941 2,450,558 Ogren Oct. 5, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber Country Date 68226. Austria-e; Mar. 26, 1915 "630388 France Aug.20, 1927 651,917 France Got. 16, 1928'

